The Day After Tomorrow: Jake Gyllenhaal’s $552 Million Disaster Thriller Officially Finds a New Streaming Home

Warnings ignored as disaster spreads

In The Day After Tomorrow, Dennis Quaid plays Jack Hall, a paleoclimatologist who warns that an Ice Age is approaching. His concerns are dismissed, and severe weather rapidly escalates around the globe.

Tornadoes devastate Los Angeles, hail strikes Tokyo and a tidal wave floods New York City. As the Northern Hemisphere plunges into a deadly freeze, millions of people are forced to evacuate.

A father and son separated

Jack’s teenage son, Sam, played by Gyllenhaal, becomes stranded in the New York Public Library as conditions worsen. The story follows Jack’s effort to reach him amid the crisis.

The film also explores the consequences of ignoring environmental warnings and depicts U.S. citizens fleeing south across the border to seek asylum. Its emotional center is the strained relationship between a distant father and his son.

Mixed reviews, major box office

Critics gave the film a 46% score on Rotten Tomatoes. The criticism cited clunky dialogue, familiar disaster-movie stereotypes and limited character development. The commercial result was far stronger: The Day After Tomorrow grossed $552.6 million worldwide on a $125 million budget.

Gyllenhaal’s varied screen career

Gyllenhaal has appeared in thrillers including Prisoners, Donnie Darko, Zodiac and Nightcrawler, as well as action films and blockbusters. His other science-fiction credits include Life and Source Code.

The Day After Tomorrow was directed and co-written by Roland Emmerich. Its new streaming home gives audiences another opportunity to watch Gyllenhaal in the disaster film.